Showing blog posts by Jackie Tortora

I'm the blog editor and social media manager at the AFL-CIO. Interviewing union musicians was my introduction to the labor movement. My first job after graduating college was in Syracuse, New York, where I wrote and edited the International Musician, the monthly magazine for the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). Protecting Social Security and Medicare from benefit cuts brought me to Washington, D.C., where I spent two years as a new media coordinator at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. I came to the AFL-CIO in the summer of 2012, just in time to re-elect President Barack Obama. When I'm not tweeting about America's unions, it's likely I'm watching Syracuse basketball and football.

Domestic workers are essential to the global economy. They care for children, the elderly and people who need extra help around the house so that family members can leave the house and go to work. Unfortunately, as Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, points out, many domestic workers, while caring for our families, do not earn enough to provide for their own.

In case you missed it, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka spoke some powerful words at the Missouri AFL-CIO convention on Monday about racism and why the labor movement should care about the recent events in Ferguson, Mo. Above is the full speech, but below are some highlights.

We're on our phones all day, returning that text from mom, checking fantasy football scores and deleting all those pesky store emails we don't remember signing up for, but it's about time we use our phones for what they're made for: human conversations.

Six and a half million California workers will now have access to paid sick days, thanks to a new law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. Workers will be able to earn three paid sick days a year. Unfortunately, home care workers were excluded from the final bill.

On the anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, here's a little "Throwback Thursday" recognition of the veterans who rebuilt the World Trade Center and became highly skilled members of the union building and construction trades through the Helmets to Hardhats apprenticeship program.

Student loan borrowers are trying to do the responsible thing by paying off their loans but are being punished with high interest rates.

When you take out a mortgage or car loan, you can refinance the loan to get a better interest rate. With student loans, however, you’re stuck with the interest rate set by Congress, even though that rate is high enough to produce massive profit beyond the costs of operating the student loan program. And that's just not fair.